Finding an anti-AIDS vaccine remains an elusive goal—partly because the HIV virus quickly mutates to evade the vaccine's antibodies. In a Watson Lecture on April 1, Caltech's Pamela J. Bjorkman will describe ways to neutralize that mutational advantage.

It is often said that people who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. John P. O'Doherty, professor of psychology and director of the Caltech Brain Imaging Center, discusses our current understanding of how we learn from experience.

Professor of Biochemistry Bil Clemons is focused on working out the structures of and biological processes associated with membrane proteins—assemblies of protein molecules that act as transport channels through the greasy lipid membrane that encapsulates a cell.

Integrating optics and electronics into systems such as fiber-optic data links has revolutionized how we transmit information. A second revolution awaits as researchers seek to develop chips in which individual atoms control the movement of light within the chip through optical "wires," and photons could replace electrons as the vehicle for performing computations. Andrei Faraon (BS '04), an assistant professor of applied physics and materials science in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science, presents a preview of this revolution at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17, in Caltech's Beckman Auditorium. Admission is free.

Two and a half billion years ago, single-celled organisms called cyanobacteria harnessed sunlight to split water molecules, producing energy to power their cells and releasing oxygen into an atmosphere that had previously had none. These early environmental engineers are responsible for the life we see around us today, and much more besides. At 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 19, in Caltech's Beckman Auditorium, Professor of Geobiology Woodward "Woody" Fischer will describe how they transformed the planet. Admission is free.

David Hsieh, an assistant professor of physics at Caltech, is searching for new forms of matter that exhibit weird quantum properties in bulk. Find out the why, where, and how at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15, in Caltech's Beckman Auditorium. Admission is free.

It is a banner spring in Pasadena for the classical Greek mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse. Exhibits at Caltech and the Huntington Library highlight the work of Archimedes, as it has made its way into the modern era. Lectures and conferences will complement the exhibits, helping viewers understand the historical and scientific significance of ancient Greek mathematics to later eras.